Guardiola on Rodri injury latest and schedule

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Guardiola on Rodri injury latest and schedule  24/09/2024  Etihad Stadium, Manchester, UK

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00:00Are you going to see us tomorrow or not?

00:13Is there a game tomorrow?

00:14No game.

00:15No?

00:16I'll give you a day off, guys.

00:17Nice to see you.

00:18Same process as ever, guys.

00:19You can raise your hand, we'll come to as many of you as we can.

00:20Simon.

00:21Pep, congratulations.

00:22On the win, before we start, can I just ask you what the situation is with Rodri?

00:35I know you spoke before the game, but when do you expect to find out what the situation

00:39is?

00:40Still, we don't have the definitive.

00:45We'll be out for a long time, a while, but there are some opinions that maybe it will

00:53be less than we expect, but unfortunately he was injured and right now still I cannot

00:59tell you because we are waiting the last phone calls from him and the doctors to know exactly

01:04what definitely he has and the type of surgery that he has to get.

01:12When do you expect to find out?

01:14Let's play tomorrow.

01:17I think tonight, tomorrow we'll know exactly.

01:19I think the club will inform perfectly.

01:23Just in terms of tonight, Nunes has not had the easiest time since he arrived from Wales.

01:29Do you always believe that he can be the player you want him to be?

01:33We have a special quality that few players have.

01:36He's unique.

01:38His pace and the transitions are unbelievable.

01:43I'm really pleased for him, for the goal, who will score more, and I still have something

01:46I have to read to understand because it's not easy sometimes when the new players adapt

01:50a few things.

01:51I'm really pleased for him because he's a lovely guy and lovely guys deserve always

01:58good things.

01:59I know you made a joke then about the number of games you got to play, but what has it

02:04taken out of the players physically to play twice in three days, and particularly Kyle

02:07Walker, who's obviously started on Sunday and played 90 minutes tonight?

02:11Well, Kyle didn't play last game so much, he played last game 70, 75 minutes, and to

02:19play the central defender you have to make less effort.

02:22You know, it's more position intelligence, he's really good because he has a good long

02:28pass and he's paced from behind.

02:32I spoke with him the last 15-20 minutes, how did he feel, and he said, no, I feel good,

02:36so I played 90 minutes and really good.

02:39We planned to make 45 minutes generally, 45, Savio, and the rest of the players didn't

02:44play against Arsenal, so it's good for the rhythm, for everything, for the message to

02:48me.

02:49Yeah, we play, we concede one shoot, and lately it happened that we create a lot to finish

02:57the game with 3-4, 5-0, second half especially, clear chances, and after, yeah, the last

03:03minute we went through everything that happened, but finally we could close the game and go

03:07to the next round.

03:08Hi Pep, this is a competition you've obviously won four times and always taken very seriously,

03:15with the way the fixtures have been done this year, with the European games being up against

03:19it last week or tomorrow, is that damaging the competition as a whole?

03:25I would say the next round is going to play the players, I announce you now, they play

03:29the last minutes or the second team, we are not going to waste energy for this competition

03:34for sure.

03:35I don't know what's going to happen, if I have a lot of injuries I'm going to play the

03:39second team, and you have players, you have all the squads ready, it's a good competition

03:45to take the rhythm, that's for sure.

03:50Just as Richard said, given your history in the competition though, does that frustrate

03:54you that you're now in a position where you're saying we're not going to waste energy on

03:57it?

03:58The schedule is the schedule, we cannot handle it anyway, so differently.

04:05Today for Makati, for Mateus, from Jagged he didn't play, and from Phil, it's just three

04:11months he didn't play, from of course Nico, from Rico of course played a lot of minutes

04:16but he didn't play against Arsenal, and from John for example, Kyle, for the young like

04:2160 years old, from Stefan, it's perfect.

04:26I saw players that didn't play lately, how they feel, how they are in physical condition,

04:30how the rhythm and the pace and everything, so that's why it's good this competition,

04:35otherwise we're going to win four in a row, if we take it seriously.

04:39We lost last season against Chelsea in Newcastle away in the first round, and we played really

04:43really really good with a lot of young, Jacob played fantastic 25-30 minutes, so it's good

04:50and we play, we play, we play, everybody saw it, we play to win the game, to go through,

04:56we never never throw up, you know, get rid of a competition again, never ever.

05:02But of course, we play 50 hours a go, so we cannot, players play a lot of minutes, so

05:10absolutely I'm not going to take a risk in this competition for a Premier League or a

05:15Champions League.

05:16Can I just ask what yesterday looked like, what is the preparation for today?

05:21The preparation was the guys didn't play in Arsenal, train a little bit, a little bit,

05:25the position they're going to play, and recovery yesterday, today all the players before, earlier

05:31than usual to make another recovery for players, Waters and the other one, and that, try to

05:40so watch as much as possible, watch for my people, myself today, what they do and prepare

05:46the game like usual and compete like they had.

05:49Hi Pep, just on Rodri again, have you spoken to him and how is he, is he devastated?

05:56No, it's OK, he's strong, sad of course, and waiting the final decision, but he has to

06:01do.

06:02And how sort of confident are you, you can still have a good season without him, you

06:05know, for as long as he is out?

06:09Don't want it, but we will have a good season, I trust a lot of my players.

06:15I have the duty to find a solution, Rod is irreplaceable, when a team don't play with

06:20the best midfielder of the world for a long, long time, of course it is a big blow for

06:27us, but it's football, it's happened, but my duty is to find a solution, to be competitive

06:33like we have been for many years and continue to be there, to be a problem for our opponents.

06:40Could Kevin De Bruyne be back, you said no risks tonight, could he be back for the weekend?

06:45I don't know, yesterday I didn't train him, today I didn't see him, so I don't know.

06:52Is Rodri, you said he's the best player in the world, is he irreplaceable really?

06:59Yeah, I will find a solution, we have alternatives, we will do it, when one player is irreplaceable

07:07we have to do it as a team, and this is going to happen.

07:12We have last season, three months without rolling, five months against Kevin, and we

07:18were there, we won the Premier League, despite of many things.

07:21I know Mikel Arteta is a friend of yours, but did you feel, did Rodri feel, did the

07:30players feel that maybe he was targeted by Arsenal?

07:33I'm talking about specifically, basically at the start of the game I think it was Havertz

07:37who ran straight into him, did you think that was what was going on there?

07:41No.

07:44Not at all?

07:45No.

07:46And Rodri didn't think that?

07:47No.

07:48I didn't speak with him, hopefully not, he thinks the same of me.

07:51OK, thank you.

07:52You're very welcome.

07:55You said you're going to have to find a solution for Rodri, I know obviously you wouldn't want

07:58him out, but is there any part of you that finds that challenge exciting, that you're

08:02going to have to try and find a solution now without him?

08:05I realised for many, many, many times that the opponents, after winning 4-5, 0-0, 6-7,

08:11they are going to install the red carpet in every single game to make it incredible with

08:17our best dresses.

08:23Perform like you want, so never, never thought that, so this is a challenge, we need that.

08:29So, and different ones, so when the people say what do you have to do, what do you have

08:35to play, we challenge different thousand million teams and different ways to against us, and

08:41we handle it.

08:42And what happened against us, now this belongs all the time against us, so never, never,

08:48ever in my life, even the people thought in my comments because the people misunderstand

08:53me, because they don't want to understand me or they don't believe me what I said, the

08:57opponents can play the way they want to do it, it belongs to us to handle them and break

09:04them in the way we have to do.

09:07With Mikel, because after the time we text each other and the relation don't change

09:12absolutely anything, they decide to play in that way, it's more than perfect, I never

09:16justify, it's fine, I was not able to do it, they were brilliant, it's about us how

09:22we can break them, and we did it really well in many things, so, always it happens, so

09:28we are not here to say to the team, oh you are going to play the way we want to play,

09:32absolutely not, we play in that way, lately we play a lot of teams defensively, Inter

09:36was so deep, Arsenal so deep, for the reason 10 against 11, today what for, it's about

09:42us, because it's not the first time in eight years, do you know how many times we play

09:47teams that play in that way, like today or the last game, do you know how many?

09:50Millions, millions, and there are other teams, no, that they are more aggressive, they are

09:56more brave, they are more attacking or whatever, it's about us, it's really, so we can expect

10:03it's going to give you, oh guys, do whatever you want to win the game, that's not going

10:06to happen, you have to know it, that's why the challenge, Roddy is not here, he has a

10:09problem, yeah, we have to complain, I feel so sorry for him, I feel so sorry for Oscar

10:15Bopp, he's not there, when he was in incredible form in the BC, what are you going to do?

10:20Guys, we're with you, and recover as best as possible with the best department, staff

10:24department, medical, you have, and go through with what you have, and this is the challenge,

10:29so it's nice, so always happen in the problems, this is a big one, what do you have to do?

10:37I'm so sorry, it's a pity, absolutely not, let's go, what we have, what happens we have,

10:42go to Newcastle to try to win the game and do what we have been for many years, it's

10:47what it is, so it's simple as that, so me as a manager reflect what can do better against

10:54incredible, even if it's 10 players, it's so deep like Arsenal, what can do better?

10:58Of course they can do it, I admire them what they have done, I cannot do it, I'm not able

11:03to do it with my team, defend, fight central, defend away, defend every single ball, block

11:08every single ball, what I'm saying, I said to Mikel, you did it amazingly, so it's not

11:13a problem, everyone decide, they know the teams, they know the players, they know exactly

11:18what they have to do, it's not about that, it's not, it's what we have to do to do it

11:24better, and this is the way, or the reason why, for the quality, for many reasons, that

11:29you had success, our mindset, this is what the team have been and will be, until I'm

11:35here, this is going to happen.

11:37Thank you guys.

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